Meiyappan seeks time to appear before cops

Gurunath Meiyappan with CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. AFP Photo

Chennai Super Kings CEO Gurunath Meiyappan on Thursday sought time till Monday to appear before Mumbai police for questioning in connection with the T20 League betting scandal, police said.

Sources in the crime branch, probing the racket, said the request from Meiyappan for allowing him to appear on Monday was received this evening, hours after he was issued summons.

"The request is under consideration," a crime branch source said on condition of anonymity.

Though the full contents of the letter is not immediately known, it is believed that CSK honcho wanted to be spared from making a personal appearance before the T20 final encounter on Sunday which his team is set to play in Kolkata.

Earlier in the day, a crime branch team had issued summons to Meiyappan asking him to appear before it on Friday after he was found to be in "frequent touch" with actor Vindoo Randhawa, son of late wrestler-actor Dara Singh, arrested in connection with the scandal. 'Vindoo was invited to match by Gurunath'

Since Meiyappan was not available in Chennai, the summons was pasted at his residence and a copy delivered to CSK's office.